Clock with automatically-traveling advertising surface and annular gap for the clock hands



Oct. 15, 1929. A. TECKENBURG 1,731,401

CLOCK WITH AUTOMATICALLY TRAVELING ADVERTISING SURFACE AND ANNULAR GAP FOR THE CLOCK HANDS Filed June 30, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 15, 1929. .A. TECKENBURG 1,731,401 CLOCK WITH AUTOMATICALLY TRAVELING ADVERTISING SURFACE AND ANNULAR GAP FOR THE CLOCK HANDS Filed June 30, 1927 Z Shuts-Sheet 2 .771 Yell/01'. WW

l atentecl Oct. 15, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Q AUGUST TECKENBURG, OF HAMBURG, GERMANY CLOCK WITH AUTOMATICALLY-TRAVELING ADVERTISING SURFACE AND ANNULAR G AP FOR THE CLOCK HANDS Application filed June 30, 1927, Serial No. 202,668, and in Germany October 29, 1925.

This invention relates to a clock with admovement being retarded by too long circuit vertising strip in the dial and moving periodically and automatically, the movement of said band being controlled by an electromagnet, the hands of the clock, which are oifset accordingly, circulating cylindrically around the advertising device.

Clocks of similar construction have become known but in these clocks toothed wheels are enerally used as means for making the hands circulate around the advertising device and which, to be coupled to a normal clock-work,

required a special transmission-gear or abnormal modifications offthe clock-work. By the arrangement of hands which, are

oiiset twice, it becomes diflicult to find a suitable mounting for the advertising-device and to preserve the facility of inserting and removing the same, it being further necessary to make the driving mechanism for the traveling advertisement band as simple as possible owing to the limited space. The commonly used forms of construction comprise .no .means for selecting any desired timeperiod for the traveling of the pictures and for securely preventing the jumpingover of one or several pictures.

According to the invention the annular gap between'the dial and the advertising area, so and serving for the free movement of the oifset hands, is bridged by means of U-shaped connecting bows which carry, tog-ether with the arbor, the casing for the advertisements. In order to ensure an easy inserting and removing of the advertisement-casing, the two hands of the clock are bent only twice at right angles. The periodic starting of the movement of the advertisement-band is eifected by a flat ring, fixed on the minute-hand behind the advertisement-casing and having a number of contact-pins corresponding to the duration of the traveling period, said flat ring controlling the movement of a locking lever which, for the driving wheel of the advertisement band is electromagnetically operated. Jumping of pictures is prevented by an auxiliary locking hook, arranged, be-

sides the main locking hook, on this locking lever and which, when the locking lever does not return at the correct time'this returnclosing, bears in the lockingposition on the nose of the locking wheel of the driving wheel so that the same can execute always only one rotation.

A clock with advertising mechanism constructed according to the invention is shown, by way of example, in the accompanying. drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows in front elevation the clock pith ring-shaped dial and advertising surace. I Fig. 2 is a vertical central section on line 22 of Fig. 1..

Fig. 3 shows in rear elevation the advertise- 65 ment-casing, this casing and the clock-casing being shown in section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: shows a top plan view of the clock, one half in section. v

Fig. 5 shows the arrangement of the endless advertisement-band, of the driving roller and of the tension roller in the advertisementcasing.

Fig. 6 shows a connecting-bow for the mounting of the advertisement casing onthe clock-case, the bow being shown in two different views. a T

Fig. 7 shows in two different views a modified construction of the connecting-bow.

Fig. 8 is a connection-diagram for the driv ing mechanism for the adertisement-bandand for the illuminating of the same.

Fig. 9 shows in front elevation'and in side elevation the minute-hand with a contaot carrying ring. I r

In the clock-case 1 having a lid 2 on the top and a glass-door 3, the clockwork at is ar: ranged which is coveredat the rear by a protecting casing 5; in the case 1 the advertise-v ment-casing 6 is further located which contains the whole advertising mechanism and the driving mechanism 7 for the same. The clockcase 1 of any desired convenient shape has in the front wall 8 and in the rear wall 9 a circular aperture 10, the diameter of the aperture in the front wall being of the same size as the aperture in the ring-shaped dial 11.-

This dial 11 is fixed on the front wall'8. A closing ring 12, designed to serve as mounting for the glass-door 3 mounted on a 100 hinge 13, is also fixed on the front wall 8.

The clock-work is so arranged that the hand carrying arbor 14 is situated accurately at the centre of the circular aperture 10 or of the ring-shaped dial 11.

The advertisement-casing 6 consists essentially of two side-walls, designed for journaling the rollers. This casing 6 is open at the top end and stayed by transverse bars 15.

10 The casing 6 is mounted on the arbor 14 by meansof a connecting bar 16 and consequently supported at the rear end. The front wall 17 of easing 6 is circular and has a square aperture 18. On the wall 17 four or a greater number of narrow but resisting connectingbows 19 bent in U-shape are. arranged, by means of which the casing 6. is fixed on the clock-case. The advertisement-casing is of such diameter that, between the clock-case 2Q, and the circular front wall of the casing 6, an i annulargapQOis formed. which is sufliciently wide to let pass the minute-hand 21 and the hour-hand 22. These .two hands are bent first at right angles in forward direction and then againat right angles in outward direction so that, in their rotatingimovement, they circumscribe a large cylindrical space. The outwardly bent points of thehands passunderneath the U-shaped connecting-bows 19.

. 30, The'conne cting-bow shown in Fig. (imay bemade separatelyfas one piece, in which case theringrshaped mounting 12 for the door of the clock-case. must. have corresponding incisions, or the connecting-bows are made, as

.?v shown in Fig. 7, in which case the how 19 is made inv one piece with. the ring-shaped mounting 12. Theoiiset portion 23'is in any case so great that the hands 21 and 22 can freely move the one overthe other.

40. The mechanism in the advertisementecasingxconsists of. a driving. work 7 which may either be a spring-work or a small-sizedielectromotor and fromwhicha driving wheel 24 is rotated. On-theshaftofithe driving wheel 24=alocking disk 25, havinga locking nose 26,

is keyed; The rotating movement of the driving wheel 24 is transmitted by an endless belt 27 1 upon thedriving rollerf28which has anannular groove129,in.or.der that the adver- 07 tisement-band can pass over the endless belt 27. Onthe drivingwheel24and on the driving r.oller28 teethare arranged to prevent slipping ofthe driving belt and of the advertisement-band. At the side of; the driving cylinder. 28 a. tension. roller 81. is arranged whichis mountedin vertical slot-bearings of the side wallsof-thecasing and pressed downwardiby the action of springs 32. Four other,

rollers 33: serve for guiding the advertisement-band34. Theends35 of, this band 34 arelunitedgby sewing, tying or in any other suitable. manner so that an endless band is formed: On the advertisement-band sections spacingsections, 87. alternate.

l/Vhen the door 3 of the clock-case and the lid 2 are opened the advertisement-band 34 can be easily placed around the corresponding rollers in the manner shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the two ends of the hand are connected the one with the other. The advertisement-band is securely held'by the tension roller 31. The circumference of the driving wheel 24 is selected so. that at each rotation a new section 36 of the advertisement-band appears behind the square aperture 8 to; be

come visible from the outer side. An electric lamp 38 in the advertisement-casing serves to light the advertisements, the cable 39 of said lamp passing over the bowsl9 or through the arbor.

The mechanismfor periodically operating the advertisement-band consists ofa flat ring 41, having metal-pins 40- and fixed on the minute-hand of the clock, said ringserving at the same time forbalancing said: minutehand as it is loaded at one side;- further of contact-springs 42 and: 43 which, when cominginto touch with one of'the pins 40, close the circuit for an electromagnet 44 which then attracts. a locking lever 45sot'hatit releases the locking wheel 25' for rotation. The pins 40 of the flat ring 41 are accurately mounted on a circle, the centre of-whichcoincides with theaXis of theclock. According to whether the advertisements. have to be changed every 10.minutes or every 5 min-utes or every 2 minutes, 6 or 12 or-30 pins40 are arranged onthe flat: ring 41. The number of pins multipliedby the number of. the minutes of the periodgmust always be 60. The contact-springs 42and 43 are arranged in suchamanner that the pins40, when passing. along the same, touch-themboth. at the same time-so that the circuit ofa conductor 46, which is connected to the light line 39 and.

Thelocking lever 45, which is attracted bythe electroemagnet 44, is a twovarmed lever, fulcrumed at 50, and. has a locking hook 47 and an auxiliary lockingrhook. 4.8. The-end of the locking lever 4'5;which-.carries the looking hook 47 is lifted, wheinsaid lever is being.

attracted by the electromagnet, so that, the hook releases the nose 26 of the locking wheel 25. The driving Work-.7 canithenrotate the drivingdisk 24.

As soon asthe contact-springs42 and 43-;

have slipped from the pin 40jof the flat ring 41, the attractingforceof the; electromagnet ceasesandthe locking lever-45 is. returned into its initial;lockingposition by, the action of a spiral spring. 49.1 After one complete rotationofthe locking wheel25 its nose 26 will butt again on the, locking; hook-47 and stop the driving wheel- 24wand;consequently the rotation 0f,.di's k 2 5.

I When the sliding contact of springs 22 and 23 on a contact-pin 40 should last longer than one rotation of the wheel 25, the nose 26 will butt against the auxiliary locking hook and stop the driving work. As soon as no current flows through the electromagnet and spring 49 pulls upward the lever 45, the looking nose will pass along the auxiliary hook 48 and butt then against the locking hook 47 When another contact-pin 40 comes into touch with the contact springs 42 and 43, the circuit of the electromagnet is closed again, the locking hook 47 is pulled upward and the locking wheel 25 is liberated for another rotation. At every rotation of the locking wheel a new advertising-section 36 appears behind the aperture 18. Separateswitches 51 are provided for switching ofl the electriclamp and the mechanism.

In order to prevent the long hands 21 and 22 exerting by their overweight a disturbing influence upon the movement of the clock, they are balanced by small counter-weights 52. F or the same reason the contact-springs 42 and 4-3 are made as feeble as possible and the time during which they are in touch with the contact-pins 40 is made as short as possible. The short duration of the contact is further necessary in order that the contact of the electromagnet be interrupted before a full rotation of the locking wheel 25 is completed.

It is evident that slight constructional modifications and improvements may be ing work, a locking wheel keyed on the shaft of said driving wheel, a locking lever cooperating with said locking wheel, an electromagnet for operating said locking lever, a circuit of said electro-magnet, contactsprings interrupting said circuit and designed to co-operate vwith said contact pins on said fiat ring for periodically closing the circuit so that said locking lever is disengaged from said locking wheel and said driving work operates and moves said advertisement-band, an auxiliary locking nose on said locking lever designed to stop said locking wheel when, owing to excessively long circuit closing in the electromagnet, the locking lever is not released in'proper time to stop the locking wheel which thus can execute always only one rotation. y

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

AUGUST TE CKENBURG.

made. The sector-shaped portions 53 of the front wall of the advertisement-casing might either be ornamented or used for advertisingpurposes. The feet 54 of the connectingbows 19 might be inserted in the wall 17 and coloured with paint or made invisible in any other suitable manner.

1. The combination with a clock including a case with a ring-shaped front portion, and time hands pivotally mounted back of said ring shaped front portion; of an advertising casing mounted in front of the pivotal mounting of the time hands, the front portion of said advertising casing being substantially in the plane of said ring-shaped portion, there being an annular slot between said front portions, one of said portions being provided with dial markings, said time hands being shaped to circumscribe the space occupied by said advertising casing and to project through said annular slot and traverse the are fixed directly so that for removing the ad- 

